TypePad Featured Blogs

Accepted Admissions Almanac

Anyone getting ready to apply for college or graduate school knows what they’ll face on the way: taking SATs, writing essays, listing extra-curricular activities…the list is virtually endless. Luckily for today’s student, there’s the Accepted Admissions Almanac, the blog that’s “all about college and graduate school admissions”. One of the web’ s oldest admissions consultancies, Accepted provides tips, guidance, direction, and more in preparing those items that are crucial to the applications procedure. Need pointers on MBA admissions? Check out this. Need help on your resume? Accepted has compiled the pertinent services here. The same for Financial Aid. The site is organized into the categories most likely to be needed by applicants such as Admissions, Interviews, Deadlines, GMATs, and more, making it a vital resource for those heading on the bigger and better things.

Law Professors Blog Network

Blogs can be entertaining, personal, informative – and in Law Professors case, an invaluable resource for a specific profession. You won’t find a lot of distractions here (such as illustrations or polls); instead there are direct links to posts of interest to those practicing the law, such as debates on the effectiveness of the death penalty and articles about the rights of students in light of the “No Child Left Behind” law. A number of other specialized legal blogs are included such as aviation law, antitrust, and banking (among many others: the whole selection covers virtually all fields). Each contains information, recent articles, rulings and findings, opinions, and comments to create a rich environment for anyone involved in the legal profession.

Golden Gate Garden

Northern California is the home of many rare and wonderful things (including TypePad!) so it’s nice to feature Golden Gate Garden, a blog that celebrates the beauty of the Bay Area. Author Pam Pierce teaches gardening and horticulture, and her talents are evident in posts such as shell bean succotash (complete with recipe), fall and winter greens and year round vegetable gardening. (Sometimes, however, you have to get your hands dirty, as her post on pests bears out.) Whether you plant for food or beauty and regardless of your level of expertise, you’ll appreciate Pam’s great gardening advice (applicable to areas outside San Francisco, as well). Dig in!

Leiter Reports

Here’s a blog with a PhD in academia – or more precisely, "news and views about philosophy, intellectual culture, and academic freedom". Interesting reading, even if it’s been a while since you were on campus.  There’s advice for those seeking jobs in academia, a bit of blog poetry, and news from institutions around the world. There are plenty of guest bloggers (and postings from other universities) to keep the conversation lively, so head on back to those ivy-covered walls (the electronic version, at least) and start reading!

Tasty Data Goodies

What’s it like to work in a data mine? Tasty Data Goodies details the day-to-day operations of Swivel, a website where everyone can explore data and use it to “make better decisions in voting booths, in boardrooms, and at neighborhood meetings”. The blog takes you behind the scenes of the site, and details such subjects as “data mining for the masses”, how the World Health Organization will use data to improve the lives of millions, and how folks are drawing the gender line across societal issues. The blog does a great job of taking facts and figures out into the real world and putting them to work to make a difference — see for yourself!

Wise Like Us

Applying to colleges can be about as much fun as…oh…falling off a cliff. Collegewise provides counseling for students and parents alike on taking that plunge. And the company's blog, Wise Like Us, can be an education in itself on issues that arise in the application process like choosing colleges, admission trends, and standardized testing. "To Interview or Not to Interview" cautions: “Just because a school interviews and just because you're on campus doesn’t mean you should take them up on the offer.” And all university shoppers will want to inform themselves on the small rebellion brewing on liberal arts campuses against the widely followed U.S. News college rankings. You’ll also find links to photos of 18 college campuses around the country like UC Santa Cruz and the University Texas at Austin. So read up, take a big breath, and dive on in.

The Weather Guys

Consider the humble weatherman -- the tragicomic staple of local newscasts everwhere. Now, toss out your preconceived notions about greenscreens, polyester blazers, and Doppler 8000 radar. Warm up to a new breed of meteorogical journalist -- The Weather Guys. Yes, that's right, USA Today has long employed a pair of these intrepid editors to bring you the best in forecasts, climate news, and even books and music related to the weather. Do you shiver in your bones just thinking about the weather? Well, no more. Leave it to banjo-playing Bob Swanson and his partner-in-clime Doyle Rice to make thinking about the weather all day, every day, just as fascinating as the other great blogs that USA Today offers.

Divorce Diva

Getting divorced does not mean you have to end up alone. Divorce Diva is here for you with a helping hand. Her blog is filled with all the resources she wishes she'd had before she got divorced. In addition to her near-daily posts that range from being frank and practical to empathetic, there are sidebars filled with book recommendations for women who are overwhelmed with emotions and need practical guidance, tips on money management, life after divorce, and eventually dating. Most importantly, she hasn’t lost her sense of humor. This is not a pity party. Divorce Diva is trying to help those who are about to get divorced by showing them how they can plan ahead. It is an equally supportive home to those who are newly divorced and others who've been in this community awhile. Whether you're 25 or 55, you'll find a sense of community here, as well as a comfortable place to laugh and/or cry!

Owen Bloggers

U.S. News & World Report ranked Vanderbilt University's Owen School of Management among the top 50 of America's Best Graduate Schools. Owen Bloggers is a student-run blog with more than a dozen writers shedding some light on the lives of current MBA and MSF students. Now prospective students can see what life is like in grad school at Vanderbilt.Topics range from balancing academic life and marriage, all the way to the students' 2007 trip to China. Tyler has been bombarded with questions from employers and friends as to why he chose Owen Graduate School of Management and has written a series of posts about why he chose a health care MBA, why Owen, and his opinion about the finer things in Nashville. There are also plenty of posts that crossover into mainstream life from a student's perspective -- and you won't want to miss Sharran's 42 Reasons Normal People Can Switch to Macs.

Parent Hacks

If only kids came with instruction manuals, right? You've heard it a million times, but there's no better school for parenting than the real world. Parent Hacks is a top-notch blog that leads you straight to experiential tips and tricks for raising your child(ren). The authors, moms Asha Dornfest and Margaret Foley, are comfortable speaking their minds and sharing their hard-won wisdom. Clearly their kids must be great nappers for them to find the time to post three times a day. The categories are well organized by age-group, activity, and concern -- whether you need to learn how to breastfeed, find the appropriate kid gear, or just need a little mental support without asking your mother-in-law. Parent Hacks scours the web to find sites giving the best advice, and delivers it straight to your inbox. With more than 5,000 subscribers, you know that this is advice worth coming back to again and again.

Coffee Break Spanish

If your New Year's resolution was to finally sign up for that Spanish class and the weeks are slipping by, it's not too late. Coffee Break Spanish is a lifesaver for language lovers. Download lessons to your MP3 player and listen anytime you like. There are free lessons and weekly podcasts on the blog. Members get additional flashcards, iPod Notes, and a PDF guide. Your hosts, Mark and Kara, make listening short and fun. Kara is learning, just like most listeners of the podcast, which is helpful and adds depth to the practices. What are you waiting for? Start with lesson one and get going. Here's hoping that this service becomes available in more languages.

The Kept-Up Academic Librarian

The Kept-Up Academic Librarian is a news blog for, you guessed it, academic librarians. Why do we like it? It does one thing and it does it well. That's the great things about blogs: Pick a subject -- any subject -- and make it your own. Whatever your area of expertise, if you share your knowledge, the world will beat a path to your blog. Here you've got a simple idea: Scour the web for news and posts that relate to higher education and academic librarians. While Steven Bell, the Director of the Gutman Library at Philadelphia University, rarely adds his own commentary to the articles he collects, excerpts, and links, his curatorial presence is crucial. He hand-picks only the most salient articles, and categorizes them for easy browsing and archiving. If you're a university librarian or even a Library Sciences student, no doubt you'll find Bell's blog an invaluable resource.

My Wonderful World

Part of a larger campaign by National Geographic to improve kids' knowledge about the planet they inhabit, My Wonderful World tries to connects geography, culture, and current affairs in a meaningful way for parents, educators, and students alike. Recent posts include a look at Kazakhstan (why does that country sound so familiar?), the U.S population topping 300 million, the geography of soccer, and a neat interactive map about Middle East history. Of course, along with the assorted geographical tidbits, you'll also find questions, answers, and updates on the Wonderful World campaign, such as this great sweepstakes to win a trip to the Galapagos Islands. Now that's a location we'd love to research first-hand!

Ask Moxie

Got kids? Ask Moxie is a helpline for parents needing a little extra advice on what to do when things go wrong. Parents send in questions, and Moxie publishes both the Q and the A, so others can benefit. There is no preaching. She's not a doctor. Moxie is a mother of two who firmly believes that you know your child best, but she started a blog for those that want to talk about their parenting issues. Moxie is down to earth, has an encouraging voice, and admits when she doesn't have the experience to tackle your dilemna. Possibly the best aspect of the Ask Moxie blog is her generous ability to lend an ear when moms and dads need it most. There are several different categories to make searching for your issue easier including breastfeeding, preventing PPD, and even traveling with kids. If your child is throwing tantrums, having trouble with potty training, or you've been tempted to call your little darling Crankypants, Moxie is here for you. Moms-to-be, don't wait until your child is giving you grief, read Ask Moxie for preventative measures. Her photo-free blog is a safezone where you don't have to look at pics of someone else's kids that are cuter or more well-behaved than yours.